1. Field
The following description relates to a refrigerator having a direct-cooling type ice maker provided therein with an ice maker directly contacted by a refrigerant pipe.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a refrigerator is an apparatus configured to store foods fresh by having a storage compartment capable of storing foods and a cooling air supplying apparatus capable of supplying cool air to the storage compartment. A refrigerator may be provided with an ice maker capable of generating ice.
As for the methods in cooling an ice maker, an indirect-cooling type is configured to cool an ice maker by guiding a cool air which is generated at an evaporator at an outside an ice making compartment through a transport duct to the ice making compartment, and a direct-cooling type is configured to directly cool an ice maker with a cool air at an inside an ice making compartment by additionally installing a heat exchanger at an inside the ice making compartment.
For example, as one of the direct-cooling method, a refrigerant pipe is configured to make direct contact with an ice making tray of an ice maker so that the ice making tray may serve as a heat exchanger without having a separate heat exchanger.
The ice making method using the direct-cooling type ice maker, which is configured to serve as a heat exchanger by having a refrigerant pipe directly contacted to the ice maker, may perform a cooling at a faster speed than other ice making methods. However, a process in disposing and fixing a portion of the refrigerant pipe at an inside an ice making compartment in order for the refrigerant pipe to make contact with an ice making tray is needed, and a frost may form frequently as a result of the difference in temperature at an inside the ice making compartment.